State education funding in Texas has been a hot-button issue ever since the Legislature reduced it by $5.4 billion in the 2011 session when the recession dragged down state revenues. Even though lawmakers restored $3.4 billion of those cuts in the 2013 session, the issue is sure to be at the forefront in the next session that will begin in January.

All of the sudden, however, there's a new dimension to it. Teachers and other public school employees now face a double whammy on health insurance in the fall when the new school year begins. The Active-Care plans used by every public district in the region will eliminate its highest level of coverage yet still increase premiums.

The change is not easy on teachers, especially since most have had little or no salary increases in recent years. But the impact will be even tougher on lower-paid school employees such as bus drivers and cafeteria workers.

There's no magic formula for challenges like this because health care costs have been rising for years. But the Legislature has to take a fresh look at this familiar problem in the 2015 session.

Public school employees, along with other state employees, form a vast pool of workers. Texas officials should try to leverage that clout to hold the line on health care costs and study what other states are doing to keep insurance affordable for public employees.

The Legislature always has more demands for money than it can handle, and major tax increases are not going to pass the House or Senate. But the improved state economy will give lawmakers more revenues to work with, and issues like this prove once again that education funding must be a priority. If Texas can't keep veteran teachers or attract younger people to the profession, the entire state will suffer.